ROARING FORK BROADCASTING COMPANY
The cause and origin of a fire that blasted through a trash shed used by a restaurant and hotel was undetermined Tuesday but the early stage of the investigation doesn’t indicate suspicious activity at play.
The Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office is not investigating Monday night’s incident as a crime because it does not appear to be suspicious or intentional. In other words, arson is not considered to be a factor, said Parker Lathrop, the sheriff’s office’s chief deputy of operations. No injuries were reported from the shed fire.
Aspen Fire Department is leading the probe with Deputy Fire Marshal Ben Smith.
“We have been going through the night and into today and there’s not much more to share at this time,” Smith said in a voice-message response, left around 4 p.m. Tuesday, to an Aspen Daily News call.
Smith said the fire department’s origin-and-cause report released after the investigation will provide specifics about the incident. That report will be issued in the “near future” but Smith said he did not know exactly when.
Located at the foot of Buttermilk Ski Area, Home Team BBQ and the Inn at Aspen share some facilities such as the guest lobby, parking lot and the shed for waste disposal. The shed, roughly the size of a two-vehicle garage, is used for garbage, recyclables and other refuge.
Home Team co-owner Chris Lanter was in Snowmass Village around the time the fire broke out shortly before 7:40 p.m. By the time he had hurried over to Home Team, the fire — which spit flames as high as 15 to 20 feet, according to responders on the scene — was for the most part extinguished.
“They got here in two minutes,” Lanter said Tuesday. “It was a dumpster fire and as I understand it, it was an accident and I don’t know what the exact cause was but it was contained (to the shed).”
The closed-air shed uses a garage-style door, which was closed when the fire occurred, Lanter said. The shed is in an area steady with foot and skier traffic, Lanter said.
“We take such extreme precautions,” he said. Lanter said some surveillance cameras should offer more clues.
According to Deputy Fire Chief Jake Andersen, the fire department was dispatched to the scene at 7:37 p.m. The blaze was snuffed out within minutes and did not spread, he said.
“It’s unbelievable how quickly they got here,” Lanter said. “It’s really fortunate for the community.”
Andersen also recognized fire crews for acting quickly and using their smarts.
“They saw a big amount of fire and knew they needed big hoses,” he said on the scene Monday night. “So they pulled a 2-and-a-half-inch hose and went right at it and knocked it down pretty quick. I’d say within about a minute of being on scene, they had a really good knock on it, and after that they were just trying to make sure it had not gotten anywhere else.”
On Tuesday, Home Team’s barbecue was fired up outside in the parking lot, right by the charred shed, but in a good way — like for cooking pork and beef and ribs.
“We’re gonna nip this in the bud and we will be extra cautious,” Lanter said, adding that in his more than three decades of experience in the restaurant business, the shed fire was a first.